RTW Day 18 - Suva

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Today we brave driving up the hotel’s 3 mile dirt track-come-river and visit the capital, Suva. It’s a further 50 miles along the Queen’s Road, the main road which circumnavigates the island. The road condition plus speed bumps in the villages mean it’s a 2 hour drive each way.

Suva has a population of 85,000. It’s weird to think of a capital city less than half the size of Bournemouth. Maybe Dorset should become a republic?

First we head for a supermarket. The remoteness of our hotel has induced the owners to charge exorbitant prices for food and drink so we buy some provisions to keep costs down a bit.

The road hugs the ocean for much of the drive, but the closer we get to Suva, the more polluted it becomes with bottles, tyres and all sorts of junk floating along the shore line.

We reach the Fiji Museum and have a picnic brunch in the gardens before visiting the museum. It has some interesting exhibits; the rudder from The Bounty and the sole of the shoe of a Methodist missionary – the only bit of him the islanders didn’t eat.

Then we follow Lonely Planet’s suggested walking tour of Fiji past various buildings of note. Two exceptions; first we split the route into two and drive between them so we’re not too far from the car when the inevitable cloudburst occurs. Second, we visit the Anglican Holy Trinity Cathedral. It’s a hive of activity – the big boss is in town (not God – the Archbishop of Canterbury).

We drive back to our resort, through a few downpours but make it back to our room before the mother load hits.

When the rain finally stops, there’s just enough time for a swim before the sun sets and we retire to our patio and our sensibly priced supermarket beer.

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